


Shadows of Desires

by unagiwolf



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Inuyasha - Fandom
Genre: Inu, Inu Youkai (InuYasha), Kage - Freeform, Multi, Shadows - Freeform, Youkai, daiyoukai, void
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 04:27:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30049881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unagiwolf/pseuds/unagiwolf
Summary: Navigating the tumultuous political minefield of Youkai and Humans, Inari finds herself attracted to the silent and serious Sesshoumaru, as he becomes the target of unseen forces.
Relationships: Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)/Original Character(s), Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)/Original Female Character(s), Sesshoumaru/Inari, sesshomaru/Inari
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Shadows of Desires

It was a typical day in Kaede’s village when it happened, the screams echoed through the valley and the spilled blood of the villagers tainted the roads. A group of various youkai were running rampant and without the protection of Inuyasha and his friends, Kaede could only fend them off for so long. 

Kaede had managed to lead the surviving villagers to her hut and used her priestesses powers to seal the demons out. She felt exhausted, losing track of time as she concentrated on the spell for an entire night and fell to her knees as the protective bubble flickered away. 

The villagers tensed but it was pure silence outside and Kaede believed the threat may be over. She took the time to focus on all those terrified faces that begged her to get back up, it dawned on her, Rin wasn’t amongst them. 

Rin was terrified as she held onto her knees, she was covered in blood and the stench of it was quite nauseating. It was thick in the air and everyone in that cage couldn’t even look at one another. She could hear the demons talking about their plans for them and they were quite grim. 

She started to stare at the other villagers sobbing beside her and wanted to try and make them feel better, make them feel like there was hope. She couldn’t find the words as her bottom lip trembled feeling her body was quite numb. She never thought she would be in this type of situation again. The child tried to speak to one of the youkai but she got threatened and scooted back quickly letting out a small whimper. 

Rin tried to wipe the blood off her face and noticed there was another cage being pulled beside theirs and her face drained of blood. The other cage was filled with dead bodies blankly staring at her and she could hear the bones being crushed between teeth, and the tearing of flesh as it was devoured.

The child would force herself to the other side of the cage, shaking and concentrating on the mountains. She frowned as she couldn’t tell where they were or where they were being taken to. She looked to the sky trying to locate the stars she knew and noticed they had travelled quite a bit already. 

She bit her lower lip as her eyes darted back and forth and swallowed hard, they were being taken far away and into the southern lands. Would any of her friends be able to find her?

She sniffled using her sleeve to wipe her tears and looked at her sleeves. She got a determined look on her face and Rin would start to rip her sleeve bit by bit throwing pieces out of the wagon. She was careful the youkai could not see her actions hoping that her friends could pick up her scent and would come to her rescue.

\-----

Sesshoumaru was in his study looking over some scrolls and picking up a quill marking things down. Since the defeat of Naraku he had returned to his estate and resumed his rule as Lord of the Western Lands. 

His territory was vast and quite prosperous and all the other kingdoms feared his might and respected his authority. His lands were inhabited mostly by inu youkai but other types of youkai had over the years started to move into his lands to find their fortunes. 

Being a daiyoukai, he reigned supreme over many other high ranked youkai in various lands who saw him as a threat and with such power. Sesshoumaru’s price was that once he returned to his native land, a certain level of his freedom and personal desires were limited. 

Inukimi, Sesshoumaru’s mother and the Monarch of the Inu pack had recently arrived unannounced to pay a visit to her son. Her sudden arrival had caused the castle staff to be quick on cleaning her quarters in case she planned on staying the night. 

She wore a long sleeved purple kimono with her elegant white silver fur along her elbows. Her kimono had streaks of white across it and towards the bottom broke out into flowers. Her hair was elegantly tied back in two long pigtails that would almost reach the floor. 

Inukimi moved into his study watching her beloved son reading his parchments. Jaken quietly brought in a tray of tea and snacks for the two of them before groveling his way out once his lord had noticed his presence. She watched the small toad close the sliding panel in front of him and then looked to the unserved tea. Inukimi would pull her sleeves back lightly and slowly start serving her son a cup of tea then pour herself a cup. 

Inukimi “You’ve settled in well since your return my beloved son, everything seems to be in order and the pack has rejoiced their Lord’s returned.”

Sesshoumaru gave a short scoff after a long pause. "Hn…"

Inukimi grinned quietly as she set her teacup down “I know this subject has held little interest to you over the last few centuries but it’s time we address it. The soul moon has finally returned and it’s but a few cycles away."

Sesshoumaru glanced up to his mother before lowering his gaze returning to his paperwork. He could not be any less interested in acquiring a mate or listen to his mother's schemes. He mostly wanted to finish reading these scrolls and then go explore his lands.

Inukimi looked at the leaves in her tea cup ignoring his disinterest “You cannot run away from your obligations forever, every powerful leader needs a mate. It’s time Sesshoumaru, the other clans are watching us closely.”

The western Lord actually rolled his eyes at his mother who thinned her lips quite displeased with his reaction. She stared at him harshly as she couldn’t let go of his overall dismissive behavior towards the subject.

Her lips did curl into a devious smile “Oh….did I forget to mention we are hosting it? So you don’t need to worry about travelling arrangements.” she curtly pointed out, bringing a close to the conversation before a response could be made.

Sesshoumaru’s golden eyes finally glanced up to his mother and watched her facial expressions quietly. He realized there was no escaping the event and the females would be around him at all times until the soul moon passes. 

He had no desire to be bound to anyone let alone a female below his expectations, a lowly royal unable to fend for herself. He had viewed the bonds of a soulmate quite negatively with how his parents' matching had ended. He didn’t wish for his soul to be bound to another based on a political obligation. 

Those types of relationships wielded no loyalty and would leave him vulnerable if the female selected was unworthy. He drummed his claws on his desk trying to find a way out of this dreadful predicament. 

His ears flickered hearing his mother clear her throat noticing he was evidently trying to get out of it. Sesshoumaru looked out the window a moment to watch the vast distance of his gardens and his lands.

Sesshoumaru sighed as he already knew the answer to the next question. "You’ve already sent out the invitations haven’t you?”

Inukimi couldn't help but hide a smile behind the teacup “Perhaps I have taken the initiative to send them out. There are many who have accepted, kings, lords, heads of clans, it is surprising the new types of titles they seem to bestow upon one another. I suppose it’s a tactic to try and display more power.”

He narrowed his eyes disliking the human aspects taken upon by the demon lords and returned his gaze back towards his mother “Vanity, a desire of belonging, insecurity, our lands are better ruled as we follow the old ways.”

Inukimi smirked and inclined her head in agreement, she had noticed in her silent observation that many of the candidates seemed weaker in these new generations. The females seemed more delicate and relied on their appearance and cunning than their own power and self worth. 

She was curious to see if her son truly accepted his position as Lord of the Western Lands and would pick one of the females as a mate. She was consoled with the fact that she had a backup plan in place in case he tried to steer clear of these bridal trials. The soul moon coincided with a youkai heat cycle that her son could not escape. She would need to trust that either he would pick a mate or his beast would pick one for him when the females went into heat.

In truth as matriarch she hated to admit that so far there were few candidates that caught her favor so she knew her son would most likely dislike them all. It was in his nature to be displeased incessantly.

Sesshoumaru lips would thin as he would try to contain the amount of displeasure he felt. He knew his mother enjoyed scheming in his life but he should have known this visit had an ulterior motive. He let out a sigh knowing that cancelling the event was impossible without insulting all the other kingdoms. Sesshoumaru would feel a smirk come to his lips as he spoke quietly “Well then, we should bring my ward back to the castle for her protection and avoid foul play.”

Inukimi almost choked on her tea at the idea of a human within the castle with a full guest list of powerful youkai. They had not hosted a gathering since she was mated and that was hundreds of years ago. The idea of a human being present in the house after Toga's betrayal was a bit hard to swallow. She noticed Sesshoumaru was dead serious but he was right that the other clans would seek any type of advantage. 

She could not assess this quickly on how the females would react to a human child in a potential future home. She would simply nod her head in agreement and watched her son write down the decree and have Jaken take the sealed parchment to the general of his armies to select a party to escort Rin back home.

Almost a week had gone by before Sesshoumaru stepped out of his personal wing in the castle and saw what monstrosity his home had become. The smell of flowers was a bit hard on his sensitive nose but visually he knew they were quite appealing to a feminine eye. He could see the attentive effort his mother was giving the castle that had over the years lost any type of femininity once she had left the grounds. 

He couldn’t fault her efforts based solely on the objective of the event but he still disliked the vast changes to his own home, his den. He couldn’t help but sneer in distaste for her desire to please the candidates with such triviality. 

One of his servants came down the hall quietly and kneeled near Sesshoumaru, his neck slightly exposed to show submission. Only a few servants were chosen to serve him directly and he would glance over towards the kneeled male. He noticed Kyo seemed distraught, he was a sharp inu of the kage clan, almost extinct courtesy of his father's reign of madness. 

Kyo looked up quietly with his ash colored eyes “Sesshoumaru-sama, I believe you wished to visit the dining parlor near the garden. I am here to escort you.” Sesshoumaru raised a curious brow at the chosen phrasing his servant used but rarely doubted him “Hn.” he grunted out. He motioned Kyo to rise up.

The lord dreaded what he would find as he let out a quiet breath and moved in the direction of the dining parlor. He could smell that Kyo was following him but audibly he could never pick up the servant, his clan was known for their stealth.

He couldn’t help but take note that since the announcement of the Infernal Congress, the overall mood in the staff had shifted positively, they were more joyous and excited. His delicate ears had started to pick up the whispers of servants yearning of serving a Lady and hopefully one as refined as the Inu Matriarch. He smirked, obviously they didn’t know his mother as well as he did. 

They were blind to the true coldness behind that fake smile and sweet words which was behind most leaders. There was a reason Sesshoumaru was the way he was and it was his mother’s strict regiment and training that elevated such killing perfection. He saw no reason to act or pretend being charming amongst those he was forced to mingle with, he prefered being feared. The entire castle loved their lord but he was known for his cold demeanor and tactful mind and they hoped a mate would soften him up.

The Inu Daiyoukai slowly continued to wander the halls and inspect all the rooms, feeling himself growing more concerned with the events to come. The castle no longer felt like home nor something he would proudly display to visiting lords. He felt uncomfortable with what his mother was imposing on the ancestral home. 

Everything was changing and these changes were meant to charm and deceive a potential partner, not truly depict whom he was nor how he lived. He knew all of this would disappear once the Infernal congress was over and any female if he picked one would feel lied to. The only alterations in his home he was actually content with was the room set up for Rin, it was simple and the little human would love it. 

His mother had been quite insistent on personally overseeing every aspect and took Jaken as her assistant. He noticed every room had a bouquet of flowers, the curtains were changed or accessorized and displays of power were put in storage. 

He would finally enter the dining parlor and let out a low growl to himself as he immediately saw the romantic touches. He stared at the garden thinking of how his evenings would be ruined once the festivities started. He would no longer be able to just enjoy the sight of the ancient sakura tree in his personal dining quarters in silence. 

It dawned on him once he moved towards the seating area for the females and looked towards the garden, across the tree, they could see his private dining quarters. His mother purposely planned that the females in the dining quarters would be able to observe him if he chose to avoid the dining festivities. He realized his mother would not accept his absence this time around at all, she was settled on finding him a mate.

He wanted to call the entire event off but he knew that doing such a thing would have catastrophic repercussions as the clans were already on the move for his castle. He left the room and went to find his mother to demand some answers of what she expected of him during his forced attendance. 

His unpleasant mood was actually visible on his face as he didn’t bother to keep it serene in appearance and his pulsing youkai energy would suffocate any common youkai that stood within reach for too long. He would not allow himself to be manipulated during these events he wanted no part in. He only desired to focus on his new role as Lord of the Western Lands, tend to his ward and find worthy opponents to fight.

The Lord soon blurred out of sight leaving Kyo gasping for breath as the dense youkai energy dissipated. Inukimi would step aside gingerly to avoid her son’s collision course as she looked over her list. Sesshoumaru’s arrival caused Jaken to squawk and fall over causing the poor toad to grovel.

Inukimi would whip open a fan to dispel some of the dense youkai energy surrounding her “My beloved son, do you not enjoy all the decorating? I find it makes the castle so much more welcoming.” She grinned quite widely.

She noticed he looked angry and his dense youkai essence thickened with her words as she dispelled it once more with her fan “Mind your manners, you might offend your poor overworked mother. I worked so hard and you hate what i’ve done!” Frustrated, she let out a light whimper.

Sesshoumaru didn’t seem phased by the display “I saw the guest eating quarters, what are you scheming?”

Inukimi would simply offer a sweet smile, “Ah! The observatory! Well they do need to see you occasionally and that was the only way i figured would work. I doubt you would accept dining with the candidates after all.”

Sesshoumaru was caught, he would have avoided such “Very well,” he growled lowly “I’ll dine with the females once every third day.”

Inukimi seemed pensive knowing how quickly the girls could be eliminated. “You must also attend at least one event every day, we are hosting the Infernal Congress.” she quickly added. “I cannot have the clans berate me on your rejection to attend your own function.”

Sesshoumaru studied her face and calculated the factors before speaking “ Hn...” Inukimi looked overly pleased, smug even as she chirped happily for Jaken to hurry and follow her as there was much work to be done. Sesshoumaru felt the bitter taste of defeat having to entertain so many kingdoms on a long term basis. He simply shook his head trying to shake off the thoughts, at least Rin would arrive tonight. 

\----

Inuyasha and his group were returning to Kaede’s village feeling quite victorious after their last battle in a nearby village. They had defeated an evil youkai, celebrated with the villagers and received a large reward which would allow them to rest for a few months. Kagome and Inuyasha bickered about how their half of the reward should be used between building a proper house for themselves and Inuyasha’s desire for food. 

Kirara’s sudden transformation into her larger imposing self and lunging forward towards down had stopped the arguing and caused the group to exchange looks. It didn’t take long for Inuyasha and Shippo to notice the smell of blood was thick in the air up ahead. Inuyasha’s eyes widened in anger as he dashed forward leaving the group behind with no answer as Shippo tried to follow but he couldn’t keep up. 

By the time the others caught up to the fox kit, he told them about the scent of blood and squeaked as Kagome scooped him up. The three raced to Kirara who eagerly waited for them a few feet away and they all flew back to the village on her back.

By the time the group arrived, Inuyasha was already in a fight with what seemed to be a small inu youkai pack. Kagome was holding onto Sango’s waist as Kirara landed nearby the battle and jumped off eagerly to help. She pulled out an arrow ready to string it but Sango quickly put her hand over the bow causing the purification arrow to hit the ground.

Kagome was frustrated as she spoke angrily “Sango! They are attacking Inuyasha and the village!” Sango looked at her and pointed at the villagers “Kagome look at the villagers!”

Kagome looked confused but once she paid attention she noticed they were yelling at Inuyasha to stop fighting. It seemed like the pack of Inu youkai had been helping the villagers and she almost purified them solely on Inuyasha’s impulsiveness. She was just about to murder someone!

Sango threw her hiraikotsu forward between the hanyou and the youkai which broke the fight in which the poor half-breed was losing. Inuyasha slid back as he barely missed being hit by the human-sized boomerang made of purified demon bones “What?!” he angrily snarled as he skidded to a stop.

Yoki was the youngest of the inu pack, his hair was tied back with a small braid along the left side. He growled impulsively back at Inuyasha “I can’t believe they let you run around without any supervision!” before stomping away causing Kagome to flinch back.

Kagome turned red with anger as she started yelling at Inuyasha “You idiot! They are helping the villagers!” Inuyasha’s little dog ears flickered at the yelling, his yellow eyes flickered from the youkai walking away back towards Kagome.

“Eh?!" Inuyasha answered in confusion as the tip of Tessaiga dipped slightly. He never saw youkai help humans and if they did, it was to serve their own purpose. None of this made sense to him as he sheathed his sword.

Kagome pointed back and forth as the villagers started to shout angrily at Inuyasha. She watched him slowly as his ears lowered. He wouldn’t need to get the sit command to know when Kagome was upset with him. He would spin slightly looking into her direction.

Inuyasha took a moment to scratch at his cheek “How was I supposed to know when all I can smell is death?” He tucked his hands into the sleeves of the fire-rat robe and kicked the dirt a bit in a childlike manner.

Shippo frowned as he hopped around avoiding the blood stains on the road “By using your giant eyes!” and felt himself get struck on the top of the head as he gripped at the site painfully.

Miroku looked over some villagers as he calmly spoke “You could always speak first, instead of striking first and then asking questions later. But what would I know, being a simple monk.”

Inuyasha growled a bit and sat down shoving his hands in his sleeves, his pride taking a bit of a blow. When he resolved his internal temper tantrum he had nothing more to say on the matter.

Kaede stepped forward and looked to Kagome hugging her gently and would lead the group back to her hut to explain the situation. One by one they came to experience the full force of the horrors that had occurred.

Kagome watched the surviving villagers tend to their fallen, and wounded comrades. One thing puzzled her as they were in the midst of the carnage “Why are Sesshoumaru’s soldier’s here?”

Kaede stated in a cold manner “They are here to bring Rin back to Sesshoumaru….but many fell, and were… well…” she paused and winced slightly as she said “eaten…we haven’t found her yet, and to be honest, I don’t know if they will.”

Shippo could feel himself panic internally, he couldn’t stand the thought of losing more people he loved “We have to look for her, we gotta form a search party!”

Kaede slowly shook her head, “We have too many injured and suffering from youkai poison. We are practically defenseless right now. Surprisingly, those youkai agreed to stay until Inuyasha returned, so we could have some protection. Unfortunately, my powers are severely weakened right now.”

Shippo felt his eyes swell with tears and looked to everyone around him but noticed no one would meet his gaze, they all agreed with Kaede. None of them wanted to go look for Rin because the village needed them more. “F-fine! I’ll go find her myself!” Shippo exclaimed as he quickly dropped on all fours and dashed out the hut’s door.

Kagome was about to chase after him when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to Inuyasha “Tch, let him search the village and see for himself. He’ll come back when he’s ready.” She smiled quietly and nodded, he was right, the little kitsune youkai needed some time to digest the horrible news.

The small group of Inu Youkai consisted of five soldiers, four males and one female. The leader of the small group was Rasha, a silver inu youkai. She had earned her spot through hard work and her father was a general of the military forces under Sesshoumaru’s command.

Her second in command was Jin, a golden inu youkai who disliked getting his claws dirty but always got the job done. His loyalty to his squadron was the utmost and many admired his handsome features and sun like hair. 

The twins Kenji and Jenki were identical brown inu youkai and their mischievous spirits kept the group alert. One would not act without the other and if their location was unknown, trouble was brewing. Despite their faults, the twin’s synchronized fighting style gave them the upper hand in many situations. 

The youngest Yoki had a black pelt and was out to prove himself worthy of being a soldier, a hard working boy. He was always eager to please and often ran head first into battle when ordered to like a perfect soldier. His ultimate goal was to one day lead his own pack. 

They were discussing amongst themselves the next course of action to track down their Lord’s ward. Three of them were tasked to try and pick up the scent of the attacking youkai and the two remaining continued to confer to one another. 

Rasha rose a hand as they stopped talking and motioned towards the bush to where the kit was hiding. They noticed Shippo cowering nervously in the bush awaiting to get struck across the back of his head. She approached the bush and kneeled down.

Rasha lifted a branch as he would look down at Shippo. A confused look played over his face as he quietly asked, “Can we help you kitsune?”

Shippo, startled, would get an internal moment of fight or flight as he popped up to his feet. He would start shakily as he responded, then became more confident as the response went on, “I-I-I, want to help find Rin!”

The second soldier Jin was about to mock the child but Rasha shot him a look that could freeze blood before looking back towards the small kit and asked, “And how can you help us?”

Shippo stood taller as he felt safer and moved out of the bushes and tried to think of how he could help and noticed the three other soldiers trying to pick up the trail, “I know Rin’s scent like the back of my paw, I can track her”

Rasha stared at the child which just became the key to their survival and offered a kind smile, “Oh that would be very, very, helpful. Are you sure?”

Shippo nodded eagerly as he added, “Oh yes! We play together all the time!” his small fox tail wagged from the approval.

Jin suddenly saw their salvation in the brilliance of their team leader and nodded to the kit “Welcome to the pack kit, we move out in five minutes.”

Shippo nodded but felt a bit overwhelmed, it had been a while since someone used youkai terms to him or even treated him like a youkai. He hated to admit it but he had gotten used to being treated like a human, even babied. He didn’t expect the departure to be so quick but a week went by and no one tried to help Rin.

He nodded firmly to himself, having his mind set to help these youkai, he wouldn't be gone that long...right?" Shippo shifted his paws together nervously and would look over his shoulder one last time to the village he knew so well and the humans he was so fond of. He heard the pack moving out and quickly chased after them. He couldn’t say goodbye, they would hold him back, they would stop him. He had to do this, he had to find his friend.

\---------

Inari moved along the valley quietly enjoying the tranquility, her orange eyes slowly followed the various types of prey the land had to offer at dusk but none truly caught her interest. She brushed strands of her long black hair off her shoulder and tilted her head up sniffing the air for what was on the horizon. Her pack was a few hours behind her as she cleared the way for their safe travel along the infested roads of meddlesome youkai. Her hand idly touched the thick black pelt that cascaded over her shoulder and trailed long behind her on the ground. 

Her orange eyes slowly opened as she picked up a viscous scent and narrowed her eyes focusing on it. Human blood. They were days away from any human village and the nearby roads brought entry into the territory of the Hebi tribe. 

Those snakes were known to enjoy bartering for humans whether for consumption or slavery and she couldnt help but wonder the level of damage they caused on this excursion. She had only interfered with the clan on two occasions for personal reasons. The first time was her purchase of a shadow mount at their slave market, something she had not expected finding. The second time was in the battle field at war, when they needed to remind the clan their place in the hierarchy.

Inari was about to resume her journey when another scent caught her attention which gave her a flash of silver hair in her sight. The vision kept her still as the intriguing scent was luring her to give chase as she was now staring into the direction it came from. Her nose wrinkled lightly, unable to ignore the scent that kept beckoning her to track it down. 

She would gently kick forward floating upwards before softly landing into the tall grass and slightly sink into its shadow as she dashed forward at an increased speed. Inari was focused at her task and it took her about an hour to catch up to what she now clearly saw was two wagons filled with various types of humans carted by hired mercenaries. 

She descended on the first youkai she laid eyes on which was a hawk form causing it to squawk in surprise as she knocked it out cold from a swift kick to the gut. She spun swiftly and kicked the next youkai off the road and right into a tree. 

The others were about to launch their own attacks but once they felt the obvious difference of power in their youkai essences, they simply stood in fear and watched her. She seemed to ignore them once they clearly exposed their neck to her in submission realising what she was. 

She confidently walked past them as she looked towards the wagon filled with the living humans and sniffed the air once more. Those orange eyes slowly studied the bloodied thin figures until they set on the poor excuse of a human child, Rin. She watched the child pressed herself against the bars staring up at her wide eyes and hopeful. Inari was not familiar with such an expression from a human but the scent clearly came beneath the blood soaked clothes.

The mercenaries looked to one another and saw that their attacker was obviously interested in what they were hired to obtain. It didn’t take long for them to exchange knowing looks and realize that the daiyoukai would not ask for the child but simply kill them all to acquire it. 

The group elbowed their leader, an emerald Hebi youkai that slithered forward taking a daring chance to break the silence “Iffff your ladysssship will allow usssss to be on our way...we would gladly gifffft the human whelp to ssssuch a powerful daiyoukai asss yoursssself.” he flattered.

Inari would shift her attention to the Hebi who had spoken to her and realized the submission given was more than a simple difference of power. Their submission, their essences oozing of fear and anxiety was because she was addressed as a daiyoukai. 

She felt the breeze brush against the skin of her face and realized she had forgotten to put her dragon mask when she had decided to give chase to the scent. She rarely made such a novice mistake but the pleasant scent threw her off. She simply inclined her head in acceptance of the tribute causing the pressure around the group to suddenly drop as many caught their breaths.

The key holder was shaking so hard from fear that the keys were clanking as she tried opening the door. The leader would snatch the keys from the hebi female and opened the door himself swinging it wide open hissing at the humans threateningly. The villagers scurried towards the back of the wagon screaming in fear pushing each other towards the door as sacrifices before themselves. 

Rin was still holding onto the bars of the cage and felt confused about the other people’s inability of wanting to protect one another. She moved towards the door where the leader slithered back giving her room to get out. She jumped out and fell to her knees weakly from the malnutrition and dehydration she felt since her capture. She looked back towards the other villagers and then to the daiyoukai who was saving her. “Can’t you help them too?”

Inari watched the child then looked at the other caged humans and shook her head extending a hand to the child. “Come, we have to rejoin my pack." 

Rin was quiet at first feeling guilty at the idea of leaving the villagers behind but she wanted to live and see Sesshoumaru again. She stood up slowly and reached out taking the daiyoukai’s hand not even having the courage to look at her abductors. Inari pulled Rin closer to her and whispered, “Hold your breath.” and the two dropped into her shadow causing the mercenaries to run forward staring into the shadow they fell into. 

One of the mercenary youkai held his head hyperventilating as his eyes flickered in panic mumbling about death having their scent now. The leader was feeling himself panic as he hissed out orders and slithered his way back into the front. The group suddenly hurried on their path to fasten their entry into the safety of their lands.

Inari pulled the child along as they traveled the infinite dark void that felt like seconds to her and slowly ascended from the shadow of a smaller youkai who quickly turned on herself with eight beautiful pairs of blue eyes “Inari-sama!” in a higher pitched tone. 

This caused other youkai to peer over towards the inu daiyoukai and the human child. The voice came from a Kumo youkai, this one was an uncommon powder white spider which looked quite human at first glance. Upon closer observation there were distinctive features such as four pairs of blue eyes, pincers at the sides of her mouth and three pairs of additional pedipalps on her sides which looked like the usual long spider legs tucked against her ribcage. She looked a few years older then Rin and her smile soon faded as she noticed the human who was shivering from the cold and catching her breath from her travels in the void.

Inari would gently release the human’s hand and softly pat the Kumo youkai’s head as she smiled down to her “You look well Araknya, would you mind tending to the child until we find camp? I believe the void is harsh on the human system.” The Kumo youkai looked hesitant at first but when Inari pulled out a wrapped gift from her leather satchel she quickly accepted. The gift caused a gleeful cheer from the spiderling as she hugged the package and approached Rin.

Rin felt tense watching Araknya and tried to follow Inari as she held onto her pelt which reminded her of mokomoko. Araknya would gently tap Rin’s hand to make her let go, the action caused the child to drop to her knees scared. Rin was suddenly helped up on one of the two steeds by a large muscular red tatsu youkai named Oji. He had noticed the human child had more than just physical wounds to overcome. Rin blinked out of her trance and stared at the dragon youkai who grinned wide at her and winked causing the child to giggle feeling a bit better. 

She held onto the saddle and looked forward to the steed she was placed upon realizing it reminded her of A-Un. She had never seen a black scaled beast of burden before but Sesshoumaru had spoken about them once before when they caught glance of one. Rin noticed that no one asked about her sudden arrival and no one had gotten introduced to her yet as they were quick to resume their travels. 

The young bloodied child was about to talk when she heard a voice from below and noticed the kumo youkai looking up to her. “Inari-sama will introduce you to everyone once we settle into camp. You probably smell very tasty to the bad youkai around these parts.” Araknya said matter of fact.

Rin stared at Araknya feeling her face become pale in fear and felt disheartened “Oh…”  
Araknya noticed the demeanor and quickly shook her hands up at her “Don’t worry, our alpha will keep us all safe! She is amazing and very powerful, I’m sure she will find a campsite with a hot spring for you.”

Rin seemed to smile a bit more and enjoyed the conversation Araknya was providing since she rarely got to spend time with other children. Shippo was always travelling with Kagome and they didn’t cross paths or stick together long enough to play. She found herself often peeking past the steed’s head to the front of the pack to where Inari was silently walking. She couldn’t help but realise that Inari reminded her of Sesshoumaru with how the pelt was draped over her shoulder and the kindness given to her, maybe she could try asking the daiyoukai to bring her home.

A moth demon was scouting the skies and shifted his flight pattern to start his descent when he caught sight of the group. He had noticed that a human was upon one of the beast of burden speaking with the alpha’s ward. Oji was bringing up the rear keeping an eye out for danger and spotted him in the sky waving gently. 

Haku swooped down harshly gliding along the earth’s surface, his wings flapping hard causing his form to rear up and landing gracefully behind Inari. His seafoam green wings etched with grey designs stretched out and snapped shut behind him like a cloak. He dusted himself a bit as he waited to be acknowledged by Inari who kept walking forward attentive to her surroundings. His long grey antennas twitched as he was calculating the risk factor of having the blood covered human in their company. 

Once his presence was acknowledged by a mere glance, he moved to the alpha's side and spoke quietly "Welcome back my Lady. I see your scouting has been fruitful.” Haku kept his pace easily in line with Inari’s as his antennas twitched again “I feel the need to ask, why do we have a human child in our company?"

Inari kept her stride forward as her ears flickered lightly at the question "The child carries a daiyoukai scent, I enjoy it." and let her orange eyes meet Haku’s dark red ones. She held his gaze until he submitted by lowering his eyes, nodding "I see, we shall keep her safe until she is returned to her master."

Inari smiled quietly to Haku as his antennas perked up at the compliment he was given and bowed his head to her gently. The moth youkai was always eager to please the kage inu who led their pack as she had shown him incredible kindness and compassion when they first met. 

Haku was born in the Hyoga clan in the asian continent, he had the unfortunate fate of being born in a very poor family. His household was overcrowded and being the last born in a very large family, he was sold off into slavery due to his handsome features. He had endured centuries of hardship before finding himself once more cast aside by another master to be sold off as used goods. Inari’s platoon was stationed nearby and she ended up interrupting his auction and purchased him. No one had the courage to bid against her and she had taken him with her back to her camp. He was freed but chose to stay of his own accord, treated as a proper being. 

Inari reached into her satchel searching a bit as the beta tilted his head curiously and held out his hand when he was offered a small box. Haku looked back up to Inari with a slight confused look as she smirked. She would let her hand ruffle through his hair lightly, being gentle with the two antennae on his head, saying quietly “I am aware the soul moon is coming, perhaps this can be useful to you.”

Haku felt his cheeks flush as he opened the box and smiled quietly “Thank you Alpha, I am sure my mate will love this. You are too kind to us.” he would pocket the gift.

It took the pack a few more hours of travel before Inari was satisfied with their progress and the location choice. She gave her pack the signal to relax and start settling down for the night. She smiled watching the small group start socializing and her eyes fell on the human child Rin who watched how they all worked in unison with their tasks.

Inari had finished unsaddling the black beast of burden and coated his scales in oils as he relaxed happily. She would finish brushing the smoke like mane which was void energy and would take the time to stroke the shadow beast softly as the lightning beast was sleeping happily. She looked up to the pack and realized that Rin was ridiculously malnourished from her captivity and was staring at their provision pack.

She stretched quietly and listened to the darkness surrounding their camp and smirked as she noticed Rin perking up watching her. She would call Oji to her once he was finished lighting up the campfire with his breath. 

Rin slowly got to her feet and was about to follow Inari when her path was blocked by Haku’s open wing. "You cannot go on the hunt, little human, it is too dangerous." He observed the human who held onto his wing and admired it but couldn't pick up the smell Inari had mentioned at all.

Rin stared at the wing that stopped her causing her to pet it lightly and notice the moth dust residue left on her hand was a grey tone unlike the seafoam green wing "My name is Rin..." she mumbled quietly.

"What?" Haku asked, the antenna's flicker surprised hearing the human speak to him. He had not expected the child to address him as his wing slowly fluttered out of her grasp.

"My name is Rin!" the small child blurted out nervously. Haku couldn't help but offer a small smile "Well then little Rin, I am Haku, second in command. You've already met Araknya and Oji just left with our alpha Inari."

Rin stared off to where Inari went "I like her mokomoko, it's as fluffy as Sesshoumaru-sama's." Haku froze where he stood hearing the child speak of such a powerful name so carefree and recalled the rumors of the Lord of the Western lands travelling with a small human child.

Haku slowly repeated the name a few times in his head, and then would ask slowly “Sesshoumaru-sama?”

Rin nodded as she clapped her hands together to try and get the moth dust off “Hmm! Yes! I travel with him and Jaken-sama and A-Un.”

Araknya saw Haku looked very analytical of their predicament and moved over to Rin, unsure of how to proceed, she inserted herself in their awkward exchange "Uh….Why don't I take your measurements so I can make you a new kimono?"

Rin almost had stars in her eyes as she asked in childish bewilderment moving closer "You can make kimonos?” Her eyes widened in awe causing the Kumo youkai to blush wide "And you’ll make one just for me?"

Araknya suddenly swelled with pride as she nodded "Uh huh, I make my own special silk and it's real tough too! Inari-sama asked me to take care of you and getting you properly dressed is part of it.” She let her other appendages stretch out and expected Rin to scream running as all humans did but she surprisingly stayed there watching curiously.

Rin watched Araknya take her measurements and how the silk was being spinned with her appendages. She watched the process enthralled by her skills and how meticulous she worked on creating something from nothing. She had no idea something so beautiful could be made from spider silk.

Inari would return with Oji who carried a freshly killed fire deer that looked twice his size dropping it near the blue tinted campfire. Oji would quickly work on carving the meat with swift motions of his talons and hanging up the pelt to dry. The group went about their usual evening habits of sharing a meal and stories of their findings during Inari’s absence. She listened attentively to what they had to say and laughed occasionally. 

As the evening grew late, the girls would head to the hotsprings first allowing the males to pack up the leftover deer meat. Inari would lead the way towards the hot spring and start to undress, resting her beautiful thick black fur on the side of a rock closest to her. She slowly slid herself into the hot spring and watched Araknya daintily get into the spring letting out a content sigh. She heard quick steps as she peered over and Rin jumped in with a splash soaking her as she washed away all the dried human blood. 

Araknya’s eyes widened as she got splashed as well and sputtered out mouthfuls of water. Inari’s orange eyes studied the child carefully as the male silver daiyoukai scent was still there but faded slightly with the bath. She reached out lightly touching Rin’s wet hair picking up the scent again "Tell me, would you like me to take you home to your human friends or to your daiyoukai master?"

Rin was quick to set her brown eyes on Inari as she finished washing her face “I want to be with Sesshoumaru-sama again! The village wasn’t safe, they...they didn’t come for me!” she felt her eyes swell up with tears. She knew that Sesshoumaru always returned for her and protected her but the villagers didn’t even try.

Inari watched the series of emotions flash through the child at such rapid speed, humans were quite fascinating in such ways and simply inclined her head “Very well, we shall make our way to the western lands.”

The child couldn't help but grin wide as she splashed the water a bit and found herself looking at the large black pelt “ Inari-Sama…..you are also a inu youkai. Do you know Sesshoumaru-sama?”

She stretched her arms above her shoulders with a light content growl and shook her head “I do not little one. Would you like me to give you a small lesson on the inu youkai hierarchy?” The small child nodded eagerly having never had anyone freely offer her knowledge on the youkai she loved so much. Inari settled back against a rock comfortably brushing her long black hair back with her claws. 

She would motion Araknya towards her as she soaped up the kumo’s hair with bathing oils and would start to wash her curls, beginning her lesson. “The Western Lands are ruled by the strongest daiyoukai clan; the Inu daiyoukai. The silver inu pack has been ruling for a few generations now. Within the western lands, the various Inu youkai packs live in different regions which affect their pelt colors and abilities. The common packs you will find are silver, brown, gold, red and dark grey. Some specific packs with abilities are considered extinct like the kage inu and the survivors have merged within other packs. Overall most inu youkai can be found living peacefully within the western lands. Personally, I have only been within the Western Lands a few times on my father's orders. I have never been within the inner city walls or close to the Lord’s castle.” she explained.

Rin was like a sponge and had inched her way closer the more she listened to the lesson. She had no idea how the world of youkai worked but found it fascinating. She tilted her head, not understanding why Inari didn’t live within the western lands. “But you’ll take me home even if you never went there?”

Inari nodded “Yes, it intrigues me...” she smirked and tapped Araknya’s shoulder as she dunked her head to rinse off the oils. Inari grinned watching Araknya help Rin wash her hair causing Inari to focus on washing herself. Rin grinned wide and splashed quite happily humming a tune about going home.

The daiyoukai finished washing her hair and her pelt before rising out of the water and helped both wards dry off. The trio would head back to the camp where the males had their things ready and head out for their turn at the hot springs. 

Araknya would eagerly go fetch her masterpiece she had worked on during their travels and hold up the pale pink sakura blossom kimono. Rin ran over and hugged Araknya whose face turned red and her pinchers twitched happily. Rin would quickly take off the towel and put the new kimono on petting the soft spider silk “It’s beautiful!” she chimed.

Araknya held her head high quite proudly before heading back to camp. Inari grinned down to Rin whispering “I believe you’ve made yourself a friend in Araknya, usually it takes a long time for her to warm up to newcomers.” and pressed forward as Rin giggled and ran along to catch up to the two. She already felt so much happier than this morning and couldn’t believe she would be taken home to Sesshoumaru. 

Rin would watch Inari move about the camp a bit then looked around at how the camp was set up. She noticed that Inari was much more involved with her pack then Sesshoumaru was when she travelled with him. Rin slowly relaxed in her new kimono and would begin to play with Araknya and only realize the males had returned when new logs were thrown on the campfire.

Inari was settled down watching the children playing the game as she would sip some tea as she brushed her black pelt working the knots out “Tomorrow we change direction and head towards the Western Lands.” Haku looked uneasy as he was feeding more logs into the blue fire, he nervously surmised “I suspect this is related to returning Rin back to her master...”

Oji looked back and forth from everyone as he had taken another portion of raw deer meat he unpacked and felt quite lost. How did everyone seem so knowledgeable, should he have been asking more questions? Oji swallowed his mouthful and was about to ask something but found himself taking another bite and murmured happily.

Inari nodded “Yes, we will return Rin to her master the Lord of the Western lands Sesshoumaru-sama, then return on our way.” Haku looked uneasy but nodded to his mistress’s wishes and moved off to get some rest up in a tree.

The group would finish their evening routines and tuck in for the night as she kept watch, her daiyoukai essence manipulated and formed like a giant bubble enveloping their immediate area keeping all other youkai at bay from trying to attack.

By dawn the camp was cleaning up and Rin slowly woke up and noticed Inari was nowhere in sight. She searched around the camp a bit and took the offered bowl of breakfast meats, eggs and noodles. She admired the meal with hungry eyes and ate rapidly “Is Inari-sama not travelling with us?” she broke the silence.

There was an exchange of looks amongst the youkai and Haku shot Araknya a look to keep her quiet as he answered “She will join us a bit later in the day.” They would finish their breakfast and pressed on in the morning under the bright sunlight bearing down on them. 

Rin and Araknya were happily chatting through the ride on the lighting dragon as the shadow dragon wore a cover to protect it from the immediate sun and seemed more territorial than usual. It took until midday when the clouds were heavy before the shadow dragon seemed to be in it’s usual neutral mood and Inari would seem to appear out of nowhere causing Rin to jump and look around wondering where she came from.

Inari chuckled lightly feeling amused by the child’s puzzled look and proceeded towards the front of the pack to take the lead. She would take the time to rest a hand on Haku’s shoulder in a gesture of gratitude before moving past him and continued to lead the pack. Haku looked to her fondly as he smiled to himself before he peered back to check on the pack.

Rin leaned over to Araknya who was currently working on some gloves with her spider silk. She tilted her head as she asked “Is Haku a leader too?” Araknya blinked all four pairs of blue eyes and snickered at the silly question “Pft nooooo not really, he’s a beta.”

Rin frowned a bit trying to understand as Araknya put the white gloves in a bag to soak up purple dye. Araknya folded her extra limbs against her abdomen and got comfortable as she explained “Okay so Inari-sama is our pack leader so she’s the alpha. Haku is the second in command so his leadership is based on what Inari wants. He enforces her commands and when she’s not around, he makes sure we still do whatever she wants us to be doing. If Inari-sama ever becomes someone’s mate then she would become the beta. Because usually the male is the alpha.” Araknya enjoyed being the smarter of the two, she felt more grown up.

Rin listened as she watched Inari and Haku talking closely to one another “So if Haku-san and Inaru-sama get married, Haku-san becomes the alpha?” She had hoped she had understood the dynamics explained to her but Araknya’s face suddenly said otherwise.

Araknya was taken aback and made a face “Ew! She would never mate Haku-san! Inari-sama is above that!” and rolled two pairs of her eyes at the confused look the human gave her. Rin index fingers nervously tapped together as she held her hands nervously. Her small voice seemed to find a bit of courage “That’s a mean thing to say towards Haku-san isn’t it?” she asked hesitantly. 

Haru had overheard the conversation and couldn’t help but feel amused at how badly Araknya sometimes phrased things. The innocence of youth was quite hilarious at times as he chuckled. Inari peered over to Haku who simply shook his head in amusement and resumed his conversation with her.

Araknya blinked a few times “Eh? can’t you smell it? Haku-san already has a mate, Oji.” she pointed to the dragon youkai who suddenly looked their way hearing his name and pointed to himself. Oji left the rear of the group and came up to the side of the lighting dragon “You called Webs?”

The Kumo youkai nodded and pointed to the human sitting on the beast of burden with her “Oji, could you lean over and let Rin smell you?” Oji raised a brow a bit and approached the children as Rin leaned over and sniffed the air “I can only smell fire smoke.” This statement caused Oji’s chest to swell happily as he chirped “Why thank you!”

Rin smiled and said in an unsure tone “Oh….. you’re welcome!” she was glad the dragon youkai didn’t feel insulted with what she said. Araknya tilted her head and booped Rin’s nose “Rin...you can’t smell anything else? You can’t smell the apple moth dust?” in which the young girl rubbed her nose and shook her head.

Oji laughed loudly amused “Webs love, a human’s nose is very weak like their squishy body. They don’t scent exchange or mark their mates. They also do not soul bind on the soul moon when they wish to be eternally together, they give each other things valuables like trinkets.” he explained.

The Kumo demon and the human stared at Oji as he explained things and the two in chorus exclaimed “Ohhhhhhhh!” which set off another loud thunderous laugh from Oji. These two children were going to keep things lively for a while around the pack he mused. The girls giggled at each other’s antics and continued talking with Oji.

Inari glanced over her shoulder and casually remarked, “It seems the human child is growing on your mate." It seemed that Rin’s positive outlook of life was intoxicating and allowed Araknya to blossom a bit more amongst peers of her own maturity level.

Haku couldn’t help but agree “Yes, my love is quite fond of children and we are hoping to adopt but weren’t quite sure how you viewed the idea of adding more to the pack.” Inari’s silence would cause Haku to tense and almost take back his words but she offered a light smile “Really? But I am so approachable.” as her fangs bared teasingly.

They exchanged a look and both shared a brief laugh, Inari looked pensive “I would allow any whelps you would welcome into your care in my pack….because they would be yours.” she finally conceded which surprised Haku. He felt at ease having that worry of conversation off his mind. He had earned his position as beta and her trust over quite the long period of time despite his original status. It did bring quite a fond smile to his face “Thank you alpha.” he said softly.

The group would continue on their path as Inari contemplated their entry into the western lands and the difficulty of their mission. They would likely gain entry into the territory easily but the more they approached the Lord’ castle, the harder it would get to go unnoticed.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed chapter one of this tale we embark on. Much more is to come along ;)  
> I am still debating throwing more Japanese titles/expressions in the story but haven't decided yet.
> 
> Special thanks to my editor Sobunaga for going over this chapter with me a dozen times before it got uploaded!


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